Novel trioxygenated caryophyllenes from Inula Spiraefolia

The identification of two novel isomeric trioxygenated caryophyllenes from the plant species $\text{Inula Spiraefolia}$ is reported.     

Branching of colloidal chains in capillary-confined nematics

We report on the observation of colloidal chain assembly and branching inside capillaries filled with a nematic liquid crystal. Because of the homeotropic anchoring of liquid crystalline molecules on the capillary and colloidal droplet surfaces, the assembly of droplets along the capillary axis is expected, producing a transformation of the nematic director field from an escape-radial to quasiradial configuration. However, the subsequent over time branching of the straight colloidal chains is counterintuitive. By numerical simulations, we demonstrate that chain branching can occur by overcoming an energy barrier and can at least dwell as a metastable configuration. Moreover, manipulation of colloidal chains by electric fields and their gradients demonstrates various regimes of chain behavior in electric fields.     

Connected graphs of fixed order and size with maximal index: Some spectral bounds

The index (or spectral radius) of a simple graph is the largest eigenvalue of its adjacency matrix. For connected graphs of fixed order and size the graphs with maximal index are not yet identified (in the general case). It is known (for a long time) that these graphs are nested split graphs (or threshold graphs). In this paper we use the eigenvector techniques for getting some new (lower and upper) bounds on the index of nested split graphs. Besides we give some computational results in order to compare these bounds.     

Relations between (κ, τ)-regular sets and star complements

Let G be a finite graph with an eigenvalue µ of multiplicity m. A set X of m vertices in G is called a star set for µ in G if µ is not an eigenvalue of the star complement G\X which is the subgraph of G induced by vertices not in X. A vertex subset of a graph is (κ, τ)-regular if it induces a κ-regular subgraph and every vertex not in the subset has τ neighbors in it. We investigate the graphs having a (κ, τ)-regular set which induces a star complement for some eigenvalue. A survey of known results is provided and new properties for these graphs are deduced. Several particular graphs where these properties stand out are presented as examples.     

Determination of ascorbic acid in pharmaceutical dosage forms and urine by means of an oscillatory reaction system using the pulse perturbation technique

A simple and reliable method for the determination of ascorbic acid (AA) is proposed and validated. It is based on potentiometric monitoring of the concentration perturbations of an oscillatory reaction system in a stable nonequilibrium stationary state close to the bifurcation point. The response of the Bray–Liebhafsky (BL) oscillatory reaction as a matrix, to the perturbation by different concentrations of AA, is followed by a Pt electrode. The linear relationship between maximal potential shift and the logarithm of the amount of AA is obtained between 0.01 and 1.0 μmol. The sensitivity of the proposed method (as the limit of detection) is 0.009 μmol and the method has excellent sample throughput (30 samples per hour). The procedure was used for AA determination in pharmaceutical formulations and urine. The results are in agreement with those obtained using the official method. Some aspects of the possible mechanism of AA action on the BL oscillating chemical system are discussed.     

Comparison of different separation technologies for proteome analyses: isoform resolution as a prerequisite for the definition of protein biomarkers on the level of posttranslational modifications

In this article we evaluate methods used to reveal the molecular complexity, which is generated in biological samples by posttranslational modifications (PTM) of proteins. We show how distinct molecular differences on the level of phosphorylation sites in a single protein (ovalbumin) can be resolved with different success using 1D and 2D gel-electrophoresis and reversed-phase liquid chromatography (LC) with monolithic polystyrol-divinylbenzol (PS-DVB) columns for protein separation, and matrix-assisted laser desorption ionisation-time of flight mass spectrometry (MALDI-TOF MS) for protein identification. Phosphorylation site analysis was performed using enzymatic dephosphorylation in combination with differential peptide mass mapping. Liquid chromatography-MALDI-TOF MS coupling with subsequent on-target tryptic protein digestion turned out to be the fastest method tested but yielded low resolution for the analysis of PTM, whereas 2D gel-electrophoresis, due to its unique capability of resolving highly complex isoform pattern, turned out to be the most suitable method for this purpose. The evaluated methods complement one another and in connection with efficient technologies for differential and quantitative analysis, these approaches have the potential to reveal novel molecular details of protein biomarkers.     

Alternative routes to equivalent classical models of a quantum system

<正>Coarse-graining of some sort is a fundamental and unavoidable step in any attempt to derive the classical mechanical behavior from the quantum formalism.We utilize the two-mode Bose-Hubbard model to illustrate how different coarse-grained systems can be naturally associated with a fixed quantum system if it is compatible with different dynamical algebras.Alternative coarse-grained systems generate different evolutions of the same physical quantities,and the difference becomes negligible only in the appropriate macro-limit.